Vegetation survey and soil property measurement
Within each sampling quadrat, we measured plant height, percentage
coverage, aboveground biomass (AGB), and belowground biomass (BGB) of
herbaceous species at August 2020 according to the standard filed
vegetation survey method (Zhao et al., 2023). Following the vegetation
sampling, soil samples (0–10 cm in depths) were collected from each
quadrat for measuring soil property. soil organic carbon (SOC), soil
total nitrogen (STN), soil inorganic nitrogen
(NH4+−N and
NO3−−N), soil microbial biomass carbon
(MBC) and nitrogen (MBN). Soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil total
nitrogen (STN) contents were measured determined by an elementary
analyzer (Vario EL III, Elementar, Germany). Soil inorganic nitrogen
(NO3—N and
NH4+−N) contents were measured using
auto-analyzer (Auto Analyzer 3, Bran Luebbe, Germany). The soil
microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN) contents were measured
by the chloroform fumigation-extraction method.